Parenthood changes life completely. It’s not just that many of us don’t sleep for a few years at the outset — it can also bring major career changes.
If I hadn’t become a mother, I might not be writing to you now. My daughter inspired a focus on my profession, so I could care for her while working in my field.
For soon-to-be business owner Mandi Powell, motherhood also brought a career shift.
“This all kind of began about five years ago, after the birth of my son,” Mandi said, of a yarn shop she is opening in downtown Morgantown.
Mandi had worked full time as a nurse. She said with the norm of her professional life gone, motherhood made her feel lost.
To restore balance, Mandi turned to a craft she’d learned at age 8 from her babysitter — crochet.
“I made a choice to live more creatively,” she told me recently.
She’d always used acrylic yarn, but the environmental impact of that choice started to bug her. Mandi started thinking not only about the supply chain of acrylic yarns but also about the waste.
When we throw away an acrylic garment, blanket, etc., it never biodegrades. Mandi didn’t want her creative outlet to create waste.
Mindfully, Mandi searched for yarns she could feel good about, fibers to align with her values. Mandi said she also loved the idea of unraveling unwanted items to upcycle the yarn.
While thrift stores have upcyclable items, Mandi found she had to search online for fibers she wanted to work with such as linen, cotton and wool. Major craft supply stores offer limited options for these fibers. “I was finding it difficult to find one source,” she said.
She decided to become the one source. Later this month, she will open Free Spirit Fibers at 179 Fayette St.
She will stock fiber for spinning (which she has recently taken up) as well as yarns and tools such as crochet hooks, knitting needles, scissors, kits, punch needle supplies among other tools, and eventually hopes to add spinning wheels and maybe small looms.
Mandi said she wants to offer locally made tools and accessories, such as handmade yarn bowls, and she’s recruiting artisans to sell their fiber-related products on consignment.
While Mandi said “the focus is on locally produced fibers,” meaning from West Virginia and surrounding states, she will stock fibers from outside the region as well. But she said these must meet at least one of three criteria, which local fibers easily meet:
They must be eco-conscious (organic or naturally dyed or from recycled fiber), animal friendly (animals are often not treated well in the fiber industry — Mandi gave the example of merino lambs, which often have the skin removed from their hinds, a process called mulesing), and/or fair trade (to ensure people who create the fibers are well-paid and fairly treated).
In addition to local fibers, Mandi will stock vegan yarns, naturally dyed fibers, yarn made from upcycled silk saris, from recycled plastic bottles and more.
Covid allowing, she plans to host various classes and provide comfortable work spaces. Free Spirit Fibers will be open Wednesday–Saturday.
Mandi said she will have a soft opening Oct. 21, and a Covid-modified grand opening Oct. 24. She will also offer online sales and curbside pickup.
While I know we need nurses, I’m excited that parenthood brought Mandi on her path to open a yarn shop, and I know where I’ll be shopping for future knitting supplies.
